Laundry Day
by ardavenport
Summary: Obi-Wan learns a few things about younglings and Jedi discipline.
1. Chapter 1

**LAUNDRY DAY**

by ardavenport

**- - - Part 1**

"Master Qui-Gon?"

Obi-Wan looked up to see Creche-Master Zakost standing at their table in the dining hall, his broad furry head bowed respectfully.

"May we speak with you?" He gestured toward a table where Obi-Wan recognized other Creche-Masters who were looking at them.

"Of course," Qui-Gon agreed. He stood, leaving his napkin on the table.

Obi-Wan looked from his Master's half-eaten first-meal to where he stood at the Creche Masters' table. He could see Qui-Gon over the heads of the diners sitting at the tables between them, but there was no hint of what was being discussed.

After a few moments Qui-Gon bowed to his fellow Masters and came back.

Qui-Gon replaced his napkin and resumed eating without saying anything.

"Master?"

"Yes?" he asked innocently.

"May I ask what they wanted?"

"Master Zakost and the others asked me to help with a matter that they are having difficulty with. It's Laundry Day."

"I don't understand."

"You are not expected to. We will be tending to it after we finish here."

Perplexed, Obi-Wan asked no more questions. Cryptic, uninformative answers from Qui-Gon usually meant that he would have to wait for an answer to arrive somehow, or for him to find on his own. Qui-Gon (and most Jedi Masters) felt that knowledge that was discovered was more meaningful than what was told or recited. Part of its meaning was revealed in its discovery. Obi-Wan supposed that this was true, but no less annoying for the Padawan Learner who had to wait and wonder if the Master was truly striving to teach wisdom or just present it in a more dramatic form. Or both.

They had been reviewing recent Jedi missions after first meal for the past few days and then going on to saber practice until second meal. But obviously 'Laundry Day' would take precedence and he would find out about it soon enough.

Obi-Wan poured more rasheid-milk onto this grain flakes and nuts and resumed eating.

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A short time later, Obi-Wan was no closer than he had been to understanding what 'Laundry Day' meant, but he had some educated guesses.

They stood together on a raised walkway in a large utility room far below the Temple living area levels.

Dull silver working droids whirred and hummed to and fro. They lifted heaps of soiled clothes and fabric, sorted it and put the bundles into the top hatches of huge machines. The cleaned and folded articles came out a conveyor belt at the bottom where more droids took them, scanned then and sorted them into wall cubicles to be returned later to their owners.

The laundry arrived from the ends of chutes in the ceiling. Robes, socks, underclothes, pants, tunics, tabards, obis, long tunics, shifts, leggings, hand cloths, body cloths, bed cloths, blankets and even a few pillows plopped down onto the piles to be cleaned by the droids.

The activity was all pretty dull and ordinary, but Qui-Gon seemed content to wait and watch. So, Obi-Wan was stuck waiting and watching as well.

From his stance and where he was looking, Qui-Gon was obviously waiting for something to come down from the chutes. And from the small size and type of clothes that dropped down from them, these chutes emptied from the younger Initiates' living area.

They were waiting for something other than clothes to come out of the chutes.

Obi-Wan recalled the youngling dormitories. Though he had been a Padawan for only five years, it had been over ten years since he had lived there. The laundry chutes were in the dormitory, in the large spacious fresher at the end of the hall and in a meal area where the younglings were given snacks.

Possibly the children were putting things they shouldn't down the chutes. Obi-Wan supposed that a ball or a cup or spoon might make a satisfying rattle going down. Both gravity and air whooshed things downward to the bottom of the Temple, a perfect temptation to experiment.

Obi-Wan wondered if the younglings themselves were getting into the clothes chutes. It would be difficult for them to do, since the chute openings were narrow and placed high on the wall. Any youngling tall enough to reach the chute would be too big to get inside the opening. But there were plenty of things for a small one to use to climb high enough on.

He could guess what they were expecting, but Obi-Wan did not understand why the Creche Masters had asked Qui-Gon to assume this duty.

After some time, Obi-Wan heard the faint sound of Qui-Gon's com. He answered it, listened briefly and responded with a simple, "understood." Then he turned to Obi-Wan.

"We are finished for today."

Qui-Gon turned and left. After one last scan of the room and the chutes above, Obi-Wan followed.

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The next day they were again standing side by side in the utility room just after first meal. The air in the large room smelled fresh and clean, as if it were constantly washed along with the laundry. The droids worked smoothly. The big machines hummed, sucking in clothes on top and sliding the cleaned and folded clothing out at the bottom.

"Master, do you know what we are waiting for?" Obi-Wan finally asked.

"Yes."

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together. If Qui-Gon thought it was necessary to tell him more, he would have said more. Qui-Gon always included healthy portions of patience in his lessons.

After a long time, Qui-Gon's com quietly toned and after answering it he put it away again.

"We are finished for today," he said, the same as he had the day before.

Qui-Gon turned and left. Obi-Wan sighed and looked for a last minute reprieve from the chutes in the ceiling, but nothing dropped down, not even a small pair of socks. Obi-Wan turned and left as well.

**%O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O%**

"May I ask, Master, what we are waiting for?" Obi-Wan finally asked on their third day in the utility room.

"You may ask," Qui-Gon replied pleasantly.

Obi-Wan blew air out of his cheeks and carefully considered which words would get information from his Master and which would just lead to more questions. He decided on the direct approach.

"What are we waiting for?"

"We are here to chastise a transgression." Qui-Gon sighed, his eyes turned upward toward the exits of the laundry chutes.

Obi-Wan looked up expectantly, but only a pair of very small pants and a flurry of socks fell from one chute onto the pile in the enormous bin immediately under it.

"Have the younglings been getting into the laundry chutes then?"

Qui-Gon nodded sadly. "Apparently so. We are waiting for them to emerge."

The droids began lifting clothes out of the bin. Obi-Wan frowned.

"Is it safe for them?"

"Yes. The droids will not completely empty the bins while we are here and the chutes are completely smooth and curved so their descent is slowed."

Looking down at the droid activity below their walkway, Obi-Wan saw four half full bins.

"Is it just these four chutes then?"

"Yes."

Qui-Gon's com toned.

"Jinn," he answered. After listening, he put it away in his belt pouch.

"We are finished for today. The younglings have gone to their classes."

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The next day, they only waited for a short time before the younglings appeared.

There was a flush of warning, of excitement in the Force and a squeal. Then a small being dropped into a bin of clothes. Another, slightly larger youngling followed immediately after the first.

Then another and another. And another.

The fifth and last one was conspicuously long and thin and pale in the body. There was a lot more squealing and thrashing of tiny limbs. A few undertunics and a small pair pants were thrown up and out of the bin. A brown robe slid half way out before a small squirming body pushed it all the way out. It fell in a little pile on the floor.

"Ssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh!!!" A small Twi'lek girl with a very deep purple skin tone imposed some order, and soon all her creche mates took up the 'sssssshhhhhhhh'.

When they were all silent, they looked around, peeking over the edge of the bin; a Duro boy with bright alert red eyes climbed higher on the pile of clothes to scan the room. Not one of them thought of looking up at the walkway from where they were being watched.

A stick-thin pair of legs in off-white leggings pushed their way out and over the edge of the bin followed by a bottom and a long skinny body. The Quermian's feet touched the shelf at the side of the bin, his head swaying on top of his long neck. He was very young, but still tall enough to help his comrades out of the bin. Along with the Duro boy and Twi'lek girl, there was also a fluffy Bothan with ears perked up high and a little Human girl with very short black hair cut close to her head.

None of the younglings looked like they could have been more than five standard years and they all wore crechlings' dsuty white and tan tunics, pants and short boots.

They warily avoided the busy droids that ignored them, moving in a line together until they found a place where they could help each other climb down to the floor.

Qui-Gon silently paced them on the walkway and Obi-Wan went with him to the stairs. The hums and occasional thumps of the machines and droids in the room easily covered what little sound they made.

The younglings disappeared around a bulky cleaning machine, but they were easy to follow. They soon heard little feet running, cries of excitement and high-pitched laughter.

The two Jedi came around a line of broad pillars, gray boxes stacked around them. Obi-Wan looked around his Master to stare up at a huge mound of plush blue fabric. It had apparently been laid out on a soft rounded surface to be cleaned. At the base of the mound Obi-Wan recognized a curling blue pattern in brown and dull gold that looked possibly like stylized crossed lightsabers with wings. Anyone who had ever meditated in the upper chambers of the center spire of the Jedi Temple would instantly recognize that pattern.

Obi-Wan wondered if that sacred chamber was now bare with naked gray walls. Would anyone wishing to go there have to wait until it was restored? Or was there another identical set of curtains stored away somewhere to be hung up just for these occasions? He supposed that the latter was true since he had never heard of any meditation chamber being closed because the curtains were being cleaned and that particular one always looked the same.

The younglings had climbed up on top of the expanse of blue fabric and were bouncing on it. Three droids, all waving cleaning wands, backed away from the unexpected mayhem.

Qui-Gon spoke softly into his com before putting it away and moving away from the pillar, he waited to be seen.

**- - - End Part 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**LAUNDRY DAY**

by ardavenport

**- - - Part 2**

The happy play, screaming and squealing continued for another moment until the little Twi'lek girl turned and in mid-jump saw both of them. She landed flat on her bottom and slid down off the soft mound all the way to the ground in front of Qui-Gon. Her face was frozen in shock and horror, her two purple lekku scrunched up over her head.

Next, the Quermian boy spotted them, his little head and neck suddenly going rigid. The other three followed his gaze and stopped moving, their mouths open. The Duro boy and Human girl disappeared over the far size of the mound. Qui-Gon turned his head toward Obi-Wan, a silent command for him to retrieve the two. He sprinted around the droids and their work area as his Master called out, his voice calm but loud.

"You will come down from there immediately."

Obi-Wan found the two escapees on the far side of the room. The door was closed with two droids standing on either side of it. The Duro boy jumped repeatedly, slapping his hand on the control panel on the wall, trying to open the door, but the lock indicator was flashing red. Only a code would open it.

The girl clutched at the boy's tunic, her eyes open so wide that the whites were very visible around her dark brown irises. The boy stopped jumping and turned. His featureless, unblinking red eyes glared back and Obi-Wan read some defiance in him, but he put a protective arm around the girl and looked to either side of them. There was no retreat. The girl's face scrunched up with tragedy, her eyes filling with tears.

Obi-Wan folded his arms before him.

"You will come with me."

The boy hesitated. For a moment Obi-Wan through he would have to drag them back to their friends, but then he moved, his posture stiff as he walked around Obi-Wan, taking his friend with him. Obi-Wan followed, looming close over them.

They rejoined the other three, who were standing at attention before Qui-Gon, who looked down at the younglings from his considerable height with disapproval. He did not speak until Obi-Wan had herded the two others back to rejoin their creche mates.

"I believe that the creche Masters have told all of you that the laundry disposal slots are only for soiled clothes, sleep coverings, body clothes, wipes and other soft clothings." Qui-Gon circled the younglings as he spoke, forcing them all into a tighter group.

The Bothan and Human girls were teary eyed and the Quermian boy seemed not able to lower his head enough in shame. The little Twi-lek girl's eyes looked up at Qui-Gon fearfully. But the Duro boy, though clearly intimidated, still looked determined.

"They will be very disappointed that you did not heed their instructions," Qui-Gon finished, stopping, standing over the group.

"We were playing," the Duro boy spoke defensively. "They told us we could play."

Qui-Gon frowned down at him.

"This is not play. This is disobedience. You are expected to know the difference. Your companions clearly do." He indicated the other children.

The boy kept his arm around the little Human girl who was still crying. He was fearless to stubbornly confront a Jedi Master so much bigger than he was.

Obi-Wan had to admit that he had never had such confidence whenever he was caught misbehaving at that age. He kept his features neutral, blank of any sympathy he felt for the poor younglings. Discipline was harsh, but necessary. He just wished it did not have to be so cruel. Or the memories so painful.

"We were playing," the boy repeated.

Qui-Gon coldly folded his arms before him. "Master Zakost and Master Juntel will decide that. They will be here soon."

"They didn't say we couldn't go here," the boy defended. "We were exploring."

"Really?" Qui-Gon raised his brows. "Are any of you a tunic? A sleep covering? A robe?" he asked with merciless sarcasm. "Because if you are not then the rules are quite clear. You are not supposed to climb up into the laundry slot and go down the chute. Or assist your smaller friends in doing so." The taller Quermian boy's head quivered, his eyes tearing up.

The Duro boy lowered his eyes, showing his first signs of defeat. Qui-Gon began circling the group again. "Zakost and Juntel will be very disappointed that you betrayed their trust."

"Don't have to tell them." The Duro boy lifted his head, his posture hopeful.

Qui-Gon stopped. "Really?" He finished his circuit to stand towering over the younglings.

"We won't go in again," the boy promised. All the younglings' repentant eyes looked up with a glimmer of hope.

"Really?" Qui-Gon asked. "After I promised your Masters to watch for you? You are asking me to lie to them?"

The Quermian and Bothan younglings cringed.

"You was watching?" the Twi-lek girl asked timidly.

"Yes. Because this is not the first time you have done this. It was hoped that you would listen to your Masters' warnings. Take the opportunity they allowed you to admit your mistake to them. Instead you repeated it."

"That's not fair," the Duro boy said. "You was watching."

"Your Masters were watching. Was that not fair as well?" Qui-Gon demanded.

"You're not them," the boy responded, his expression hardening with a slight turn of his head, his featureless red eyes appearing hostile. "They don't need _you_."

"They don't?" Qui-Gon stared down at the youngling. "Your Masters asked me to help them." he suddenly bent down, putting his face at the boy's eye level. Surprised, he stepped back into his comrades and put his arms up to ward off the large Jedi Master pressing in on him.

"Because your Masters have not gone down the laundry chute," Qui-Gon continued, his voice and presence hard and demanding and inescapable. "I have.

"It's quite a lot of fun sliding all the way down with the air rushing in your face. Going fast through the curves and then coming out onto a soft pile of clothes in a big room full of new things to play with."

Obi-Wan saw the Duro boy's defiance crumble, crushed under Qui-Gon's admission and his imposing physical presence. The little Human girl who had been clinging to him, stood back fearfully.

"My Masters were watching me just as yours were watching you. And I assure you that it is quite fair." The boy flinched under his elder's unwavering glare. The other younglings remained transfixed by the confrontation.

There was a clang and the grinding sound of a large metaloid door sliding open over the gentle humming of the cleaning machines. Almost everyone started, including Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon remained immovable, his attention remaining on the Duro youngling.

Footsteps approached.

Qui-Gon swiftly stood up again, stepping back from the group of younglings, who lowered their eyes as soon as the two creche Masters appeared. They strode up, Master Juntel standing behind them and Master Zakost before them. Their expressions were just as merciless as Qui-Gon's and Obi-Wan cringed especially to see Zakost's warm eyes gone so cold, his long gray whiskers down, almost vertical in disapproval.

The two Creche Masters stood silently in their long floor-length tunics and brown robes. They waited for the five trapped younglings to look up and acknowledge them. Obi-Wan lowered his eyes, unwilling to watch, but he could still hear.

"We are very disappointed by your choice to betray our trust." There was no anger in Zakost's soft voice, but it was so devoid of kindness and love that it was painful to hear. Some of the children began crying again.

"We will return to the Creche now, to discuss how you may make amends and restore our trust," Zakost went on. "You will all bow to Master Qui-Gon before we leave." There was a shuffling of small feet. Obi-Wan's eyes shifted to his Master who only inclined his head in return to their wordless apology, his dark blue eyes unfeeling.

Then Zakost and Juntel lead the children out. Obi-Wan turned to see the five younglings being lead out between their Masters. The group disappeared around the mound of blue fabric and after another moment, their footsteps left the room.

Obi-Wan looked up at his Master, who sighed, his face now peaceful, his usual quiescence filling in the heartless void that had been there a moment before.

"We are finished here," he said before following after the younglings. Obi-Wan left as well, walking a few paces behind his Master.

**- - - End Part 2**


	3. Chapter 3

**LAUNDRY DAY**

by ardavenport

**- - - Part 3**

"What did you do, Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked, his voice suddenly intruding on the quiet of the large room.

Surprised that his Master spoke, Obi-Wan looked at him. Do?

They sat on neighboring cushioned platforms in the large meditation chamber in the Temple's center spire. The other platforms that circled the perimeter of the room were empty. It had been very late in the evening when they had returned from their latest mission, so they were alone.

"Do you mean lately?" Obi-Wan asked.

"When we caught the younglings coming down the laundry chute, you looked away when the Creche Masters confronted them. You were too upset by your own memories to watch. They must be very strong for you to cling to them for so long."

Obi-Wan just stared back at him and then looked around the room. It had been several days since that incident. They had come and gone from the Temple on a mission. Why had his Master been holding onto his question all this time?

His eyes came to rest on the curtains that covered the circular walls and the familiar curling wings-and-lightsabers pattern along the base of them. They looked the same as they always did, but he supposed they would have been cleaned and re-hung by now.

"What happened to the younglings? Did they make amends here? With these?" he countered, indicating the curtains.

"No," Qui-Gon answered. "Initiates are not allowed here. I do not think that prohibition would be changed for the younglings' discipline."

"Then what did happen to them?"

"I do not know. I did not ask. I am sure that the younglings made amends under the Creche Masters' supervision and that their tasks were appropriate to their actions." Qui-Gon gazed passively out at the room as he spoke. "But you have not answered my question, my young Padawan. I sensed your tension then. You were recalling your own discipline at that age. What did you do?"

Obi-Wan contemplated the serene meditation chamber as he spoke. And the curtains.

"I stole extras of my favorite dessert from the eating hall and hid them in my clothes to take back to the dormitory."

"Aaaaah. What desserts did you take?"

"They were nyokco cream-filled pastries and I could conceal one on each side of my tunic if I was careful of the crumbs."

Qui-Gon nodded, possibly impressed with his initiative. "And how did you atone for this misdeed?"

"When all of us washed our hands after eating, I had to present myself before the Creche Masters for inspection. In front of all the others."

"That would leave a lasting impression." They both sat silently staring into the room toward the brighter spot in the center of the circular patterned floor, illuminated by the twilight simulation lights in the ceiling.

"I assume your creche mates were amused," Qui-Gon went on.

Obi-wan smirked to himself. "They were. But the ones who were vocal about it were made to join me to be inspected, too."

They fell silent.

"What did you do, Qui-Gon?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Me? I thought that was clear. I and some of my creche mates went down the laundry chute."

"And?"

Obi-Wan heard his Master sigh.

"We made a large pile of the clothes we found there. From the stacks of the clean ones. Made a large pile of them and jumped on it. It was quite a lot of fun," Qui-Gon added.

Obi-Wan grinned. He had trouble imagining his large Master as a crecheling small enough to slip into the laundry slot, but he could picture Qui-Gon running and jumping into a big pile of laundry. He turned to the older man.

"How did you make amends?"

"Each of us was required to deliver cleaned and folded clothes to each person whose clothing we had played on."

"How many were there?"

"Forty-seven. It was a very big pile. And it took some time since we had to wait for each person we had wronged to send dirty laundry down to the droids to be cleaned so we could take our turn."

Obi-Wan laughed.

"Do the creche Masters always ask you to discipline the younglings whenever this happens?"

"No. It doesn't happen very often. The creche Masters are always looking for ways to prevent it, but every few generations the younglings always find a way. Usually they ask Master Yoda to perform this duty, but he is occupied with business of the Council."

"Master Yoda?" Obi-Wan asked, surprised. "Master Yoda climbed into the laundry slot when he was a youngling?"

Qui-Gon smiled back. "Oh, yes. As a youngling, he could easily hop up and get into it. And his case was far more serious. He was small enough then that he got caught up in the laundry and put into the cleaning machines. He was only found with an alarm sounded. While he was not seriously hurt, it was apparently a traumatic experience and not just because of the disgrace of his misbehavior."

"What did the Creche Masters do?"

"They investigated what had happened and found that Yoda had been using his small size and jumping ability, as well as being exceptionally strong in the Force, to get into quite a few other places in the Temple that he wasn't supposed to be in. So after that, whenever he entered or left any place, he had to announce that he was coming or going to anyone else in the room.

"'Hello, Initiate Yoda, I am. Entering into your company, I am now. May the Force be with you.'

"'Goodbye, Initiate Yoda, I am. Leaving your company, I am now. May the Force be with you,'" Qui-Gon quoted, tilting his head toward Obi-Wan. "He had to do this for half a year after he was caught in the laundry."

"He told you this?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, he did," Qui-Gon said, nodding his head. "He will tell you directly, if you ask him. He has long ago let go of that moment of shame from his youth.

"Unfortunately, my young Padawan, I saw that you had not."

Obi-Wan resisted lowering his eyes.

"I did not realize it myself, until the moment came, my Master," he admitted.

"Moments like that are often unexpected. Yet we must expect them."

A low hum rumbled from the other side of the room. The door slid open and a lone figure exited the well lit lift.

An elderly Jedi with smooth blue-gray skin, silvery unblinking eyes and long floppy ears stood under the subdued lighting from above before bowing to them and going to her own meditation platform on the other side of the room.

"We shall meditate on those moments, I think," Qui-Gon whispered before straightening and closing his eyes.

Obi-Wan gazed at his Master's serene profile a moment before doing the same.

**%O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O% ||| %O%**

"May I see the dessert menu?" Qui-Gon asked the gleaming waiter-droid.

Obi-Wan looked up. His Master seemed to be all surprises this day.

They sat together at a small table overlooking the indoor garden in the Senate private dining room. Their morning had been spent listening to a Senate security briefing. But instead of returning to the Temple with their fellow Jedi, Qui-Gon had suggested that they have lunch at the Senate complex.

Jedi were allowed entry to the Senators' exclusive dining room, but it was a privilege that Obi-Wan had never seen his Master use. Until today.

The meal had been excellent. Salad, soup and main dishes each served on elegant, gleaming ceramic that 'tinged' musically when tapped with a scoop or food prongs. While they ate, Qui-Gon had invited Obi-Wan to observe the manners and eating habits of the various personages around them. Obi-Wan had been mindful and wondered if their next mission would be diplomatic.

But apparently his Master had other motives. Obi-Wan knew what Qui-Gon would say even before he spoke the words to the waiter-droid.

"We will have nyokco cream pastries for each of us, please."

"Very good, Sir," the droid confirmed, inclining its head. Then it wheeled around and whizzed away to fulfill the order.

Qui-Gon looked back at him with innocent, dark blue eyes.

"Are you testing me?"

"Yes," Qui-Gon answered guiltlessly. Then he folded his hands before him. "The most difficult attachments to let go of are the ones that we do not recognize. Until they are acknowledged, we cannot leave them behind. You, Obi-Wan, were attached to your shame of being caught by the Creche Masters as a youngling."

Obi-Wan grimaced. 'Attached' was not the word he would have used for it.

"Perhaps not 'attached'," Qui-Gon amended, reading his expression, his thoughts. "But you let it guide your actions when I was confronting the younglings in the utility room, when you looked away."

"You did not say anything then."

"I tried to get your attention. But you were not looking" Qui-Gon turned, lifting his head. The droid was returning with a tray. "I thought it best to wait until yesterday in the meditation chamber to discuss it. Where we would see that any damage that the younglings' play might have caused had been repaired."

They both fell silent for a moment while the droid laid sparkling plates before them. On each of them was a single golden brown tube of pastry, flattened at the ends and garnished with fresh-scented green leaves, three white confections shaped like large petaled flowers and lines of dark nyocko sauce.

"And I did ask the Creche Masters how the younglings made amends for their deeds," Qui-Gon continued. Obi-Wan looked up.

"Since their offense was to misplace where they were allowed to play, each of them must ask permission of their Masters and their creche mates before they are allowed to play. And to tell the Creche Masters when they are finished. I am told that all of them have been very obedient."

"I'm sure they will learn from the experience," Obi-Wan commented, feeling a little sympathy for them.

"I'm certain they will." Qui-Gon picked up his prong and table knife and looked over his pastry and its garnishes. "You should be commended, Obi-Wan, for being clever enough to smuggle such a thing in your clothes."

"The ones at the Temple are served plainly, without so much decoration," Obi-Wan said. Their knifes and prongs bit into the crisp pastries with a delicious sound. Nyocko filling oozed out over his prong and Obi-Wan took a bite. It was smooth and rich and nearly perfect. And while it did not have the extra flavor of the excitement of a purloined dessert for a youngling, it was satisfying.

"Do you think we will be accompanying Senator T'Tona on her trip to the Pucheness Station?" he asked of their morning meeting.

Qui-Gon shook his head, finished chewing his bite and dabbed at his beard with his napkin. "I am not certain. She appears quite determined not to bring a large contingent with her, though the situation clearly requires some precautions. I expect that the Chancellor will need to speak to her, but not for a few days. We will have plenty of time for play in the meantime."

Obi-Wan stopped chewing.

"Play?"

"Yes. When we return to the Temple, we will join the younglings and Creche Master Zakost. For play." Qui-Gon took another bite of pastry and white petal garnish.

Obi-Wan swallowed.

"Do the younglings know that we will be joining them?"

Chewing carefully, Qui-Gon made a show of thinking about this, though Obi-Wan was quite certain he knew the answer already.

"I do not believe that this was mentioned to them."

Obi-Wan remembered the terrified, crying children, peering fearfully up at his Master. Of course, they would be playing. While the Creche Masters were stern about obedience, they were equally firm about teaching their charges to face their fears.

"What kind of play?"

"I would expect that there will be some running and jumping."

"And some bouncing perhaps?" he asked hopefully.

There was a large, flexible air-filled cushion in one of the Creche play areas, smaller but similar to the curtain draped work area in the utility room where they had caught the younglings. Obi-Wan had not been on it for years. It was especially fun to bounce your playmates by jumping down hard on the cushion next to them. He wondered if he was a bit big for it now. His large and tall Master certainly was, but Obi-Wan was now determined to get Qui-Gon to bounce at least once.

Obi-Wan grinned.

Concerned, Qui-Gon narrowed his dark blue eyes before answering.

"Possibly."

**%O% ||| END ||| %O%**

**- - - NEXT - EPILOGUE**


	4. Chapter 4

**LAUNDRY DAY**

by ardavenport

**%O% ||| %O% ||| EPILOGUE ||| %O% ||| %O%**

Obi-Wan folded his arms before him, tucking his hands into the opposite sleeves of his robe. The young Duro boy, Ntlaah-et, stared up at him for a moment, his featureless red eyes inquisitive. Then the youngling looked back toward the play area. A pair of booted feet stuck up out of the huge bulging cushion there. Obi-Wan had been right in his prediction that Qui-Gon was too big for it.

After sinking down into middle of the cushion, Qui-Gon had mischievously declared that he was stuck. Obi-Wan had immediately offered to help, but his Master had declared his Padawan too big and he would just get stuck, too. However, if the younglings helped by taking a good run and, using the Force, jumped on the cushion, that might be enough to free the trapped Jedi Master out.

The Quermian boy, Taem Goot, had tried first, but his slight body, all arms and legs and neck had landed on Qui-Gon, who had cheerfully admonished the others to mind their aim. Taem did better on his next try though Qui-Gon remained embedded in the cushion.

The Human girl, Yemma Yom had tried next. The impact had pushed Qui-Gon upward, but he sank down again. He told the younglings that they were doing much better.

Obi-Wan looked down at the Duro boy whose thoughts were a wordless confusion. He had at first fearfully stayed back from Qui-Gon during their initial game of hoverball. Qui-Gon had minded Ntlaah-et caution and not come too close, even while the other younglings played freely with the tall Jedi Master.

"It's not play," Ntlaah-et finally declared though he looked uncertain about whether or not he should be unhappy about this.

"No?" Obi-Wan asked.

The boy frowned, his lipless mouth tight. Obi-Wan sensed the confusion of young thoughts that had not matured enough to find the words that would express them.

"He only wants the Force." Ntlaah-et pointed at Qui-Gon's feet that were only shifted and bounced around a little bit when the Twi-lek girl, Mazana, landed next to them and then slid giggling on top of Qui-Gon. "When they jump. It's not play."

"No." Obi-Wan agreed. "It usually is not."

Ntlaah-et's critical stare changed to open surprise. Obi-Wan sensed the dawning realization as the boy looked at the activity at the cushion and then back up at him, that 'play' for a Jedi youngling was much more than it seemed.

The little Bothan girl, Glurf, took her turn. She jumped too far and Qui-Gon caught her furry little body easily. Obi-Wan was quite sure that he spotted some tickling before Glurf joined her clan mates.

Stepping to the spot where the others had started their runs, Ntlaah-et looked intently at the inflated gray mound and the boot soles sticking out of it. Obi-Wan sensed the Force around the boy. He ran and jumped.

Grinning, Qui-Gon popped right up from the cushion. Ntlaah-eh laughed with triumph as they both slid down to the floor and his clan mates cheered.

**%O% ||| END ||| %O%**

(This story was first posted on tf.n: 4-Apr-2008)

**Disclaimer:** All characters and situations belong to George and Lucasfilm; I'm just playing in their sandbox.


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